This is a 7-night ride crossing Dartmoor, riding 15 – 20 miles each day stopping at fabulous moorland Hotels and local farmhouse B&B’s. You will be guided by your host Phil Heard, owner of Meldon Farm through some of the most spectacular riding anywhere in the UK, stopping en-route for either a packed lunch or lunch at one of many welcoming moorland pubs. Each week will include a day out of the saddle to visit a local attraction or a local agricultural and equine show. While riding you can expect to see incredible scenery, ride past prehistoric settlements, wonder at neolithic stone circles, ancient tin mines, enjoy beautiful forestry as well as Dartmoor’s natural beauty.

Phil and Mandi have been welcoming clients to their farm for many years and in addition to this unique Dartmoor Crossing, also offer unique Cattle Drives with their own herd of cows and general riding stays, offering glorious long days ride across Dartmoor.

Philip and Mandi keep beef cows and sheep, plus a few ponies, which graze the farm and commons of Dartmoor where they have thousands of acres to roam over. Many towns or parishes have their own part of the moor called a common; many farms in the parish have common grazing rights attached to the land. Meldon Farm has rights to graze cattle, sheep and ponies.

The farm runs two herds of cattle. The first are Limousin x Friesian cows put to a Charolais bull and make use of the more fertile low-lying land around the farm and produce fast-growing high-quality cattle, very popular with local cattle buyers and the second are Welsh Black Cattle. These are a docile hill breed that are excellent mothers and make good use of the poorer moorland grazing and these are the cattle that guests help to move at certain points of the year, like taking them out of their winter housing to their first pasture of the season.